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France fire: Five children die in Saint-Quentin | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
Five children have died in a house fire in northern France. | |
The blaze in Saint-Quentin, about 130km (80 miles) north-east of Paris, was probably accidental, reports say. | |
The children's father was present but escaped with serious burns, local officials said. | |
Three people were also killed and 13 hurt in a fire in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers on Saturday. Officials suspect the fire was "of criminal origin" and an investigation has begun. | |
Officials said that the blaze in Saint-Quentin began at around 22:30 local time (21:30 GMT). | |
The father had been looking after the children for the first time since splitting up with his wife three months earlier, a neighbour told French media. | |
He tried to reach his children but was beaten back by the flames and jumped from the first floor of the building to raise the alarm, reports say. | |
But by the time emergency services arrived, the building was not safe to enter and the children's bodies were discovered when the fire had been put out. | But by the time emergency services arrived, the building was not safe to enter and the children's bodies were discovered when the fire had been put out. |
The flames "severely hampered the firefighters' work", local official Jean-Jacques Boyer said. | |
The children's bodies were eventually found and they had died of asphyxiation, he added. | |
Four of those injured in the Aubervilliers fire were in a serious condition. Around 60 people were reported to be in the seven-storey building when the fire began. | Four of those injured in the Aubervilliers fire were in a serious condition. Around 60 people were reported to be in the seven-storey building when the fire began. |
"The fire was probably of criminal origin, it looks like it was a settling of scores," the mayor's Chief of Staff Michael Dahan told TF1 radio. | "The fire was probably of criminal origin, it looks like it was a settling of scores," the mayor's Chief of Staff Michael Dahan told TF1 radio. |
Aubervilliers' deputy mayor for housing, Evelyne Yonnet, told French media the building was "very badly managed, with a squatting problem". | |
Those who escaped from the building were being temporarily housed in a local gymnasium, reports say. | Those who escaped from the building were being temporarily housed in a local gymnasium, reports say. |